Debbie Mathers was more popularly known as the mother of Marshal Bruce Mathers III or Eminem. She had had a difficult upbringing which was always brought up in issues regarding her son. But did you know she ended up suing her rapper son for millions?
Eminem’s mother, not only attempted to sue him for $10 million in a “slander” suit but also created a set of diss tracks with two unknown rappers to retaliate for what he said about her. She lost the case.
The Slander Lawsuit Against Eminem
Eminem’s mother, Debbie Mathers, tried to sue him for $10 million after claiming he slandered her on The Slim Shady LP and in interviews. Anyone familiar with Eminem’s music knows that he has a tumultuous relationship with his mother.
Eminem first mentioned his mother in his 1999 track My Name Is, where he claimed that his mother smoked more dope than he did. In his song Cleanin’ Out My Closet, Eminem raps:
Witnessing your momma popping prescription pills in the kitchen. Bitching that someone’s always going through her purse and shit’s missing. Going through public housing systems, victim of Munchausen syndrome. My whole life I was made to believe I was sick when I wasn’t. Till I grew up, now I blew up, it makes you sick to your stomach.
Eminem, Cleanin’ Out My Closet
Mathers, on the other hand, was offended by his statements and filed a defamation case in 1999. She said that the rapper was lying about his background and slandering her mercilessly through his music. In response to the lawsuit, the rapper’s lawyer issued the following statement:
Eminem’s life is reflected in his music.
Paul Rosenberg, Lawyer
Mathers was awarded a settlement in 2001, but the eye-watering $10 million she had requested was reduced to just $25,000 in the end. In the end, Mathers was only entitled to $1,600 of the $25,000. According to a final judgment by Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Mark Switalski, the rest of the money went to her lawyer Fred Gibson. (Source: LAD Bible)
Where is Debbie Mathers Today?
In 2010, there was a hoax stating the Mathers had passed away of breast cancer. While she was diagnosed with breast cancer years before that, it was actually Edna Swartz, Eminem’s great aunt, who he treated like a real mother who had passed and not Mathers herself.
Mathers has been living a quiet life with her husband Jason Briggs. She currently has three grandchildren and is said to have a net worth of $700,000. According to reports, her relationship with Eminem has gotten better. (Source: Cheat Sheet)
Eminem’s New Restaurant
In 2021, Eminem opened a restaurant in his hometown in Detroit and called it Mom’s Spaghetti. This was in reference to a lyric in his song Lose Yourself. The restaurant sold a simple spaghetti and meatballs meal with prices that ranged from $9 to $14. Fans were shocked to find out how expensive the food was, especially when it was just a take-away restaurant.
Eminem’s pop-up restaurant is still open and was opened in Los Angeles last February 2022. (Source: LA Times)